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A senior Democratic senator lambasted President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday after a judge handed the administration its latest loss in a high-profile immigration case.

On Tuesday, Judge Waverly Crenshaw Jr. of the Middle District of Tennessee handed down a ruling that found Trump prosecutors were conspiring with people in Washington, D.C. who "may or may not have acted with improper motivation," when bringing charges against Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, CNN's Jim Scuitto reported on "The Arena." Abrego-Garcia is a Salvadoran national who had lived in Maryland for several years with temporary protected status before the Trump administration illegally deported him in March.

Initially, the Trump administration blamed his deportation on an "administrative error" before returning Abrego-Garcia to the U.S. After he arrived, prosecutors then charged him with human trafficking, and at least one top Department of Justice official called the prosecution of Abrego-Garcia a "top priority," according to the ruling.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) bashed the Trump administration's treatment of Abrego-Garcia during an interview on CNN's "The Arena" on Tuesday, calling it a "smoking gun" for the vindictive prosecution charges.

"The Justice Department decided to bring these charges against him because he asserted his due process rights when they illegally shipped him off to CECOT in El Salvador," Van Hollen said. "This looks like another example of the Trump administration sometimes manipulating the facts to bring a vindictive case against Abrego-Garcia."

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on Sunday that Venezuelans living in the U.S. with temporary protected status should self-deport following the capture of the country's dictator.

On Saturday morning, the Trump administration sent military forces to Venezuela to detain dictator Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife were then swiftly brought to the U.S., where they will stand trial for narco-terrorism and gun charges. Some legal experts have said the move exceeded Trump's authority as president, and calls for the president to be impeached began to grow following the move.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, offered a different take during an appearance on Fox News's "The Big Weekend Show" on Sunday. She said Maduro's arrest gives Venezuelans living in the U.S. protected status a reason to "go home."

"I think the great news for people from Venezuela who are here on temporary protected status is that they can now go home with hope for their country that they love," McLaughlin said.

The Trump administration has sought to end temporary protected status for multiple ethnicities during his second administration. However, courts have mostly blocked the administration from ending the status. Most recently, a judge in San Francisco ruled that the administration's efforts to end TPS for people from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua were illegal.

McLaughlin claimed there has been a "loss of integrity" in the program.